Nicholas Quinn pictured in Rio. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Quinn tests Rio waters

MAYO'S Nicholas Quinn was the first Irish swimmer to take to the water at the Rio Olympics this evening as he warmed up for his main event, the 200m breaststroke, in the heats of the 100m breaststroke.

A solid swim from the Castlebar man saw him fourth in heat two in 1:01.29, just off his best time of 1:00.95, and placed 33rd overall.

The time is Quinn’s third best 100m breaststroke time ever - his top two came from the final (1:00.95) and semi-final (1:00.00) of the event at the Eindhoven Swim Cup, the competition where he qualified for the games.

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty set a new World record in the final heat of the event in 57.55 seconds.

Quinn returns to the pool on Tuesday for the 200m breaststroke.

(Report from Swim Ireland)

Meanwhile, fans back home have taken to social media to vent their frustration at Quinn's heat not being broadcast live on RTÉ television (it was streamed online).

Here's some of what people have been saying on twitter this evening: